Robin Wood Tarot - Seven of Wands
Robin Wood
Deck: Llewellyn
Book: Livingtree Press

Description: A barefoot young man, dressed in a Highland plaid kilt, stands at the edge of a cliff, holding a staff in front of his body in a defensive posture. The staff is tipped with clear crystals at each end and the crystals glow with light. In the foreground are 6 other staffs, each tipped with various colored crystals, pointing toward him. Since they're shown at the very bottom edge of the picture, it isn't clear who is holding them, or even *if* anyone is holding them or if perhaps they are being thrown at him.

From the book:
Key phrase: Take a Stand
Upright meanings: success against obstacles, problems solved or turned aside, bravery
Reversed: Misgivings about an outcome, perplexity, anxiety. Hesitancy causes a loss.

My take on it:
The young man is barefoot and alone, with these six other staffs coming at him, which seems like a scary situation at first. But he looks confident and competent and he's in a very defensible position. If other people are carrying the staffs, then they're brandishing them from the other side of a chasm they'll have to cross to reach him. If they're throwing them, he can easily dodge or deflect them.

He's taking a stand, but in this card it almost seems silly to me ... empty defiance, like shaking your fist and shouting insults at someone when you know you can get away and never see them again. He makes me think of a teenager, when defiance is easy because you believe you're ten feet tall and bullet proof.

This version of the 7 of Wands would remind me to choose my battles. It's important to take a stand for what you believe in, but it's also important to choose which things are important enough to fight for and when it's better to just walk away.

Deb R.